1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mist collecting mechanism for collecting mists that are generated in ejecting liquid, such as ink, from an ejection port, a liquid ejection apparatus including the mist collecting mechanism and a mist collection method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a liquid ejection apparatus that performs printing by ejecting liquid, such as ink, when a main drop of ink is ejected, a satellite drop smaller than the main drop and/or a spray mist further smaller than the main drop may be generated together with the main drop of ink. The amount of generation of mists varies with the ink properties, such as the viscosity and surface tension of ink, and/or the surrounding environment factors, such as temperature and humidity. The mist is minuscule and susceptible to air resistance. Accordingly, some of the mists float around the liquid ejection apparatus without adhering to the surface of a printing medium. Moreover, the mist is susceptible to an air current because the mass thereof is small. In a case where this mist adheres to a surface, in which an ejection port is formed, in a liquid ejection head, an ejection failure that the landing accuracy of ink decreases due to this adhesion may occur. Moreover, the mist may adhere to other components of the liquid ejection apparatus, which may cause reduction in durability of the liquid ejection apparatus.
In order to suppress the influence on the liquid ejection apparatus from such mists, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-137483 discloses a mist collecting mechanism for sucking and collecting mists.
In the mist collecting mechanism for collecting mists disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-137483, an air is once sprayed toward a printing medium by the blowing-out from a blow-out unit, and then an air current reflected by the printing medium is sucked by a suction unit. At this time, the air reflected by the printing medium is sucked and at the same time the mist contained in the air reflected by the printing medium is also collected by the mist collecting mechanism all together. Thus, the mist around the mist collecting mechanism is sucked and collected.
However, in the mist collecting mechanism disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-137483, the accuracy in guiding the blown-out air current to a predetermined suction position of the suction unit is insufficient. Therefore, the air blown out from the blow-out unit might not be precisely supplied to the suction position in the suction unit and the mist might not be efficiently sucked by the suction unit.